Sincerely: Building Trust Through Authenticity

Ancient sculptors often encountered cracks in the stone they were shaping. Instead of starting over with a new slab of marble, some would fill in the gaps with heavy wax and it appeared seamless to the undiscriminating customer–but to an artist, this was in poor taste. In fact, it earned the creation of a word that would distinguish quality work from that of charlatans–sincere, which literally means, “without wax.” So a sincere artist, had a more trustworthy reputation.

Branding is reputation-building. What do your colleagues and loved ones say about you when you’re not around? THAT’s your brand. Instead of “waxing” over the cracks in your personal brand, you might embrace them as a way of being more accessible, or even put in the personal work to develop that area in your life. When we emphasize only our strengths — as if we have no weaknesses — we can come across as arrogant. When we integrate both strengths and weaknesses, we find a sweet spot for connection with other folks’ humanity — and we create opportunities to ask for what we need.

So as we sculpt our reputations in the world, are we filling in the personal and professional gaps with “wax” and hoping no one notices? Or are we truly being sincere and sharing our most authentic self with our teams and clients. That’s the journey I’m on. Let’s talk about it.